Implementation of the textile waste sector education methodology in the educational process of schools to support the fight against climate change
The aim of the project is to build a partnership between organisations involved in environmental protection and effective improvement of activities in the fight against climate change, which will also be directed towards the problem of textile waste as one of the factors of environmental pollution. The focus is on fast fashion, which by its activity harms the environment and contributes to climate change. The aim of the project is to reach the widest possible target group of primary and secondary school pupils, with an emphasis on recycling unwanted textile products. Currently, this topic is not sufficiently popularised in green projects and schools. By creating a quality educational process and a series of lectures, we can reach a very wide group of students, where targeted actions will achieve a change in their attitude towards this type of waste, especially through new knowledge about the clothing market and the perception of fast fashion as the biggest source of textile waste. The main objective is to build the habit of sorting unnecessary textiles and preventing overuse at an early age, already at primary and secondary school level. The participation of foreign partners will lead to the joint creation of an important educational tool in the format of a documentary film, to the realisation of the main idea of the project, as well as to the extension of the target group abroad. The main objective is effectively linked to the stated priority of the project to protect the environment and combat climate change.
PROJECT PARTNERS
ECO-SAFETY SLOVAKIA SLOVAKIA
Slovak Republic
OID E10290396
Municipality Lukáčovce
Slovak Republic
POTEX s.r.o.
Czech Republic
OID E10290401
Non-profit organization RECYKLOHRY
Slovak Republic
Eurotex Ltd
Republic of Bulgaria
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS
Marta Kunáková
Ing. Jozefína Pokrývková, PhD.
Mgr. Ronald Blaho
WHO ARE WE?
Ekocharita Slovakia Slovakia entered for the first time in 2022 through the Erasmus+ platform t.z. Small partnerships in the field of school education, as a project coordinator. Already at this point, the company tried to capitalize on its knowledge from previous years, when it very actively entered the educational process of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools on the basis of its development. Over the course of several years, the company has successfully carried out verbal lectures under the title "We are friends of separated textile waste". This idea originated in the placement of collection bins for used clothes in individual schools, where the company tried to raise awareness, directly through lectures, among children and teachers about the need to deal to some extent with the biggest environmental pollutants in the form of our clothes. The lectures, in addition to having a very positive impact on the audience, brought another phenomenon into this educational process in the form of SWAPs, first in schools and later, thanks to the great interest, the company also started to deal with the so-called SWAPs. During the above lectures we understood that we wanted to take such an educational programme to a higher level and therefore we succeeded in doing so in cooperation with our Czech partner, Potex Ltd. and another partner, the municipality of Lukáčovce, in raising funds for a short documentary film that serves as a very attractive teaching material for children and young people. Already in the course of the preparation of the so-called small project, school establishments and school departments showed such a great interest in this education that we got the idea for this project on the basis of the already mentioned well-functioning partnership. The main idea is to get the educational film on textile waste to all schools, closer to children and young people, to teachers and other school staff, specifically to the territory of the three countries involved, because another partner from Bulgaria - an organised team - has entered our well, which has strengthened the international subtext and applicability of the project. Currently, Ekocharita Slovakia Slovakia is considered an experienced organization that reaches a large number of young people through education and clearly through such projects is able to transfer the results of its work and experience into the school process for awareness raising. about textile waste with the target group.
The company's goal is to protect the environment and educate the public on the one hand, and to help non-profit organizations and their clients on the other. The company collects 2,800 tons of textiles annually through 600 collection containers, mainly in the capital, Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. Collections are made through 5 crews, 1-2 times a week at each station. The work of our drivers is not easy, they work every day, in all weathers, keeping the containers in order and functional, repairing and cleaning as well. POTEX considers its employees the key to its success. Currently, POTEX employs 13 people. 6 strong men operate the containers, handle the containers, load and unload them, and perform maintenance on the containers as well. Logistics is important for us, here we have 1 man, 2 people work in administration, one in marketing. The work of 2 separators (employees) is very important, with the executive dealing with strategy, finance and communication with partners. A very important part of Potex's work is educating the public on waste prevention and the environmental impact of the textile industry, fast fashion and extending the life cycle of textiles. Since the beginning of its activities, Potex has been involved in Earth Days and other environmental activities of municipalities and city districts. In this respect, it reaches out especially to children, both pre-school and school children. The events include age-appropriate lectures as well as practical demonstrations and creative activities made from textile waste. In addition, Potex organises entertaining lectures at schools, especially for secondary school students, and participates in environmental conferences.
Task for all levels: look for unwanted textiles at home. These can be old jeans that nobody wears or t-shirts that are out of fashion, and simply recycle them. What does this mean? Turn it into a brand new item that will go on to serve a purpose. You'll find plenty of ideas and techniques online. For example, you can make a bag out of jeans, a scarf out of a T-shirt, or younger children can make simple toys - dolls, animals - out of unwanted textiles. Give the reins to your "Our everyday textiles!" Creativity (November 24 - December 22, 2022) and imagination. The products you make can serve you, you can donate them to someone or you can use them for the Christmas bazaar if you organize it at school before Christmas. You might be surprised how many unwanted textiles you find at home. You can take unwanted textiles that you don't use at work to your nearest Ecocharita container. Optional assignment for the second year of primary and secondary school: Prepare a presentation, poster or lecture for your classmates about textile collection and recycling in Slovakia, in which you will seek answers to questions: How and where does textile collection run? Who organizes the same? Where do the textiles end up and how are they recycled? How can you reduce the amount of unwanted textiles by your behaviour?
It was a simple demonstration of cooperation with educational institutions, with the entry of Ekocharita Slovakia Slovakia, the range of activities offered has increased, which can be seen in the number of schools that are currently signed up. RECYCLING GAMES enters this project as an experienced partner and will be an important partner for the implementation and sustainability of the entire project output.
RECYCLING GAMES will be represented in the project presentation by the project manager Mgr. Alena Magyarics as project manager of cling games and Mgr. Ronald Blaho, Managing Director of Asekol.
Eurotex Ltd. offers various recovery solutions to extend the life of used textiles. The company was founded in 2000 in Varna, Bulgaria and originally started with the wholesale of used clothing. Today, Eurotex owns the TexCycle brand and has expanded its activities, working to develop sustainable and circular solutions for the closed textile ecosystem. Eurotex focuses its activities on the recovery of textile waste from different streams in order to achieve a better use of used textiles in line with the priorities outlined in the waste hierarchy. We are continuously expanding our services to reach the full scope of textile recovery, which would enable us to operate efficiently and sustainably as a circular solutions provider.
Eurotex has considerable experience in the recycling sorting process. For more than 20 years we have been achieving high accuracy in sorting used clothing into different quality categories. The two-stage sorting process for reuse results in more than 300 types of garments of varying quality. Sorting for recycling is an activity in which we strive to be as professional as necessary to manage our industry's transition to a more circular way of working.
The municipality of Lukáčovce by changing the statutory representative after the elections in 2022 joined the Erasmus+ project i.e. small partnership in the field of school education as one of the project's co-investigators. From this moment on, activities in the field of education of children, youth, adults and, last but not least, pensioners started to be developed. The statutory representative of the municipality comes from a sector where he has acquired skills during his long term work that he can now apply effectively in the successful implementation of the objectives. The municipality is actively involved in educational programmes and creates regular Earth Day activities - village clean-ups and educational lectures for citizens.
This project is supported by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme in the school education sector. The contents of this document reflect the views of the author, and the European Commission and the Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation are not responsible for these views.
© 2023
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PROJECT PARTNERS
E10290396 - EKOCHARITA SLOVENSKO SLOVENSKU, Slovak Republic, OID E10290396, coordinator
E10314286 - Municipality Lukáčovce, Slovak Republic, partner organisation
E10290401 - POTEX s.r.o., Czech Republic, OID E10290401, partner organisation
E10328745 - Non-profit organization RECYKLOHRY, Slovak Republic, partner organization
E10331220 - Eurotex Ltd, Republic of Bulgaria, partner organisation